It is fortunate for the cause of justice that error and
misrepresentation have, in their inconsistencies and improbabilities,
the elements of self-destruction, while truth is in its nature
consistent and therefore self-sustaining. To such general remarks in
regard to campaigns, sieges, and battles as may seem to me appropriate
to the scope and object of my work, I shall append or insert, from time
to time, the evidence of reliable actors in those affairs, as well to
elucidate obscurity as to correct error.
From the official reports it appears that the strength of the two armies
was: Confederate, 30,167 men of all arms, with 29 guns;[180] Federal,
35,732 men,[181] with a body of cavalry, of which only one company is
reported, and a large artillery force not shown in the tabular
statement. Of these troops, some on both sides were not engaged in the
battle. This, it is believed, was the case to a much larger extent on
our side than on that of the enemy. He selected the point of attack, and
could concentrate his troops for that purpose, but we were guarding a
line of some seven miles front, and therefore widely dispersed.
For the purpose above stated, extracts are herein inserted from a
narrative in the "Operations on the Line of Bull Run in June and July,
1861, including the First Battle of Manassas." The name of the author,
J. A. Early, will, to all who know him, be a sufficient guarantee for
the accuracy of the statements, and for the justice of the conclusions
announced.
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